Sherry Cobbler — Muddled fruit, sherry and crushed ice, with chocolate bitters through it

Sherry Cobbler

Muddled fruit, sherry and crushed ice, with chocolate bitters through it

Number of people

Ingredients

  • 2 ozMedium Dry Sherry
    An amontillado or a dry oloroso
  • 3 dashesChocolate Bitters
    A modern addition to a very old drink
    Substitute: Any chocolate bitters
  • 1/2 sliceOrange
    Half a slice, muddled just enough to break it
  • 1 slicePineapple
    One slice, muddled with the orange
  • 1/3 ozSugar Syrup
    One to one, and not much of it

Instructions

  1. Muddle half an orange slice and a slice of pineapple in a rocks glass

    Just enough to break the fruit; a mash clouds the drink

  2. Add 2 oz sherry, 1/3 oz sugar syrup and 3 dashes chocolate bitters
  3. Fill with crushed ice and stir
  4. Garnish generously with fruit and mint

Technique Notes

Muddle the fruit before anything else goes in, and only enough to break it. The cobbler works on fruit oil and juice released into the sherry, not on pulp; crushed to a mash it clouds the drink and clogs the straw.

Why the Sherry Cobbler Works

Sherry already tastes of nuts and dried fruit, so cocoa is a shorter step than it sounds. Chocolate bitters carry no sugar, which matters in a drink whose sweetness is coming from fruit and a third of an ounce of syrup rather than from a liqueur.